Underestimation
by KBear143
Summary: A reviewer, Monchen, requested a couple of one-shots from me... One of those was for Joe Toye to get a little love, so here it is. Now that I've written him, I'm considering a multi-chapter in the future. In the mean time, stay tuned to the other stories and for more OS. ALL OBVIOUS DISCLAIMERS! Thanks for reading a reviewing! You are the best!


**** AVA POV ****

The rest of Easy Company was enjoying a rare evening off from training at an Aldbourne pub. I, the only female who had managed to earn a set of wings at Camp Toccoa, had been restricted to the barracks because Captain Herbert Sobel was an asshole. Of course, his official reason was that I had not cleaned the latrines to his satisfaction, or some such, to which he added that he'd have expected better cleaning skills from a woman. In fact, I'd been singled out of the group who'd had latrine duty because, as a woman, I "should know the most about cleaning." The jaws around me had clenched.

"Doll, it's not fair for us to go if you can't," Bill argued. He'd been among those who'd gotten off scott-free.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm fine! Go and enjoy a beer for me. If you all stay, we will all be miserable. I'm fine. I'll read a book. Besides, I'm tired of you guys. I could use some peace and quiet."

He chuckled and wrapped me in a hug, planting a kiss on my cheek before I shooed the group out the door. Although I was pissed about the restriction, I couldn't help but feel touched at how he, Shifty, and Joe Liebgott, who had cleaned the latrines with me, lingered until I almost pushed them out the door.

I shut it firmly behind them and turned to stare at the rows of empty bunks. Frustrated, but resigned to my fate, I lay across my bunk and pulled out a book, hoping that the time would pass quickly.

* * *

 **** JOE POV ****

Bill, Shifty, Liebgott, and Ava had the unenviable task of latrine duty, and as late as they already were, I wondered if Sobel was pulling some of his bullshit with them. Finally, I saw them come through the door. All except Ava. What. The. Fuck?

Now, I'd been among the most resistant in the company when it came to getting to know this woman who had turned up on our first day at Toccoa. She was slight and quiet, obviously ill-at-ease in that first formation with all of the eyes boring into her. Sobel zeroed in on her immediately, and my first thoughts were that there was no way she'd last a week. In fact, the others started a pool on the time it would take her to quit. I never participated, but I couldn't help but agree. That was my first lesson on underestimation.

On the first of many Friday night marches, despite my best efforts to stay away from her, she wound up in front of me, marching next to Pat Christianson. We were nearly back to the camp when Pat took a gulp from his canteen, which Sobel had ordered us not to do.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed at him. "You get us all gigged, and I'm going to kick your ass."

Ava turned to shoot me a dirty look over her shoulder and, to my surprise because she usually stayed out of my path, responded to my threat with, "Oh, shut the hell up, Joe. You're not going to lose your precious weekend pass!" Then, to Pat, "Gimme that." Refilling his canteen from her own, she handed it back to him and explained, "He hates me anyway. No way he will punish the whole company if he can single me out."

Was she serious? Before I could ask, I heard George Luz mutter, "Damn, who had this week? No way she makes it through another one of these tonight."

"Hey Luz," she called. "Got any spots left in that pool of yours?"

A little startled, he sputtered, "Uh, yeah. Nobody's put anything on you getting your wings yet."

"You're on," came her cheeky reply. "I'll give you the money up front, once I get back tonight, just so you won't be able to say I can't pay up if I leave."

Guys around me chuckled, but I had to give her credit. She had guts. She didn't bat an eye when Sobel gleefully ordered her to repeat the march, although Pat was squirming a bit, as I thought he should have been. She limped back into the barracks that night, exhausted and in pain but with her head held high, and handed George her bet money before she even sat down.

The whole room stared at her in silent awe as she loosened and pulled off her boots and socks, revealing the most painful looking blisters I'd ever seen. Still, she offered no complaint. Without realizing what I'd done, I grabbed a small sewing kit from my pack and moved to the edge of her bed, pulling her feet into my lap. She looked at me with questions in her eyes. After all, I'd never even spoken directly to her. Too late to turn back now.

"I worked in mines before this," I explained. "I know a thing or two about blisters. Trust me. I can help."

* * *

 **** AVA POV ****

The look on his face told me that he was sincere, so I nodded and sat, mesmerized, as this typically stoic man with the quiet, gravelly voice that I liked more than I wanted to admit, tenderly inspected the blisters on my feet. Then, he carefully pierced each one with a needle and thread, gently pressing out the clear liquid and leaving a piece of knotted thread in place so that they could continue to drain overnight. I felt no pain as he worked, finishing by cleaning each one with supplies from Roe's pack before standing and meeting my eyes again.

"Thank you, Joe. That was sweet of you. It feels better already." And it really did. For the first time in a week, my battered feet felt almost normal.

His smile and the tinge of pink that crept from his cheeks all the way up to his ears were worth every inch of those twelve extra miles.

"Yeah, well, we've gotta take care of our own, right? No different than you covering for Pat."

I smiled and nodded as we both settled back onto our own bunks for some sleep. Our own. If the universally respected Joe Toye could learn to accept me, maybe there was hope after all. That night marked the beginning of a change in how the boys viewed me, and Joe Toye himself became my biggest cheerleader. By the time we got our wings, he'd carved a role as my self-appointed big brother, protecting me from overeager young men and making sure that George counted out every dime of my winnings at the party that night. After twelve days cuddled into his protective arm in a cargo-hold bunk on the way to England, we were damn near inseparable.

Now, trying unsuccessfully to concentrate on my book, I realized that laying there on my bunk no longer felt right without him next to me. I wondered if he was having fun at the pub without me. Not that he wasn't entitled to have fun, but… maybe he was talking to some pretty little English girl in that quiet voice that I adored. The unexpected thought, and the jealousy it aroused, annoyed me and, with nothing else to take it out on, I hurled my book away from me in an exasperated huff, hearing it hit the wall near the door.

"Well, if it's that bad, you don't have to read it. Don't throw it at me."

My eyes snapped to the doorway, and there stood Joe Toye.

* * *

 **** JOE POV ****

I collared Bill as soon as he reached the bar, and his jaw clenched as he related Sobel's latest round of bullshit.

"So she's just sitting at the barracks alone?"

"Yeah. Didn't want us to stay. Said she'd just read a book." I started for the door as he finished, "You leaving already?"

"Yeah," I answered, and he gave me a knowing grin. "I think I'll just go read a book."

"Uh huh. You do that, Joe."

On my way back to the barracks, I thought about the suggestive tone in Bill's voice, and wondered when I'd come to crave Ava's company more than a beer with my buddies. One moment sprang immediately to my mind.

We had been herded onto the Samaria in New York Harbor and watched in silence as we left the Statue of Liberty behind on the first moments of a twelve day journey across the ocean. Now, we were crowded into the cargo hold like sardines, piling into glorified hammocks that had been stacked five or six rows high. I was stretched out one, talking about putting my knife across Hitler's windpipe, when Ava rolled in next to me. The sinking from the added weight carried her into my side and I looked down at her in confusion.

"I'm not climbing way the hell up there," she said matter-of-factly, gesturing to a bunk several rows up. "I don't take up that much space. You can deal with it for twelve days."

From behind me, I heard Malarkey pat the space next to him and say, "If he can't, I can. Plenty of room for you over here with me, Av."

Instinctively, I pulled her into my chest and looked over at him with warning in my voice, "That won't be necessary."

Don chuckled and shook his head, but all was forgotten when Ava snuggled into me, draping one arm comfortably across my stomach and laying her head against my chest. I had dealt with it alright… for those twelve days, and for just about every day since then.

I stepped in the door just as a book flew across the room.

Stooping to pick it up, I joked, "Well, if it's that bad, you don't have to read it. Don't throw it at me."

"What are you doing back?" was her greeting. "You should be at the pub."

However, her eyes, which I'd been learning to read for the past couple of years, revealed that she was happy to see me, and I smiled as I walked over between our bunks and handed her the book.

"Eh, I see those guys all the time. Scoot over."

"You see me all the time!" she laughed, but she moved so that I could stretch out next to her.

"You're better to look at."

I couldn't remember if I'd ever made her blush before, but she was definitely blushing now, not meeting my eyes as I brushed a strand of hair from her face.

Finally, she said, "So I guess Bill told you about Sobel's little rant?"

"You know he's full of shit, right?" She nodded at me, but I put my hand on her cheek until she met my eyes. "Av, under no circumstances do you take anything that son of a bitch says to heart. You hear me?"

Teary-eyed, she leaned into my chest and kissed my cheek. She always loved it when I got all serious and insistent.

"You know you're my knight in shining armor, right?"

"Oh, and I suppose that makes you the princess?"

I got the laugh I was hoping for when she replied, "Damn right! You should be kneeling or bowing or curtseying right now, or something."

My eyes widened as she giggled, and I pounced on her, tickling her mercilessly.

"I'll show you curtseying!"

This was the side of me that only she saw. The playful part of me that I hid away from everyone but her. At last, she was laughing and gasping for air, face buried in my chest but trying to squirm free.

"Okay, okay!" she begged. "Stop! I give up!"

It was then that I realized how closely her body was pressed to mine, and when she met my eyes again, a charged silence fell between us. At last, I recognized that feeling that had been nagging at me for so long, and I stared in a flood of realization at the woman I'd fallen in love with.

* * *

 **** AVA POV ****

The way he was looking at me was making it hard to breathe. I'd accepted my feelings for Joe the first night I'd fallen asleep and woken up in his arms aboard the troop ship. I hadn't allowed myself to entertain thoughts of him beyond friendship though, until I saw the look in his eyes in that moment.

The tiny distance that remained between us seemed to close on its own, and his lips pressed cautiously against mine. I felt like my blood had been set on fire and sent racing through my veins. In a moment, his arm tightened around my waist and my hand slipped behind his head, the kiss deepening as his tongue swept against mine. By the time we pulled away, his body was settled comfortably across me, and it seemed that silent understanding flowed between us as we left the threshold of friendship behind.

His voice seemed lower than normal when he whispered my name, and the rasp sent heat to the most sensitive parts of me. My fingers wrapped around his dog tags so that I could pull him back down to my lips. Restraint began to melt away. His hands slipped underneath my shirt, fingers leaving goosebumps as they brushed my skin. His lips ventured from mine, only to make their way down my neck and collarbone. I gasped in pleasure as his hips shifted, revealing that I was not the only one being affected. There was a rush of cool air as he pulled my shirt over my head, and then the warmth of his mouth as he trailed across the sensitive skin of my breasts and stomach, pulling my trousers over my hips. When he knelt above me, unbuttoning his shirt, his expression radiated pure desire, effectively holding me in place so that his eyes could rake over my naked body as he shrugged the material off of his shoulders. I had never in my life felt as wanted and beautiful as I did in that moment.

Propping myself onto my arms, I scattered kisses across his chest and abdomen and he sighed, tangling his fingers in my hair. He tugged lightly and I looked up into his eyes, now burning into mine like a pair of smoldering coals. They never left my face as I undid his belt, but when I began to push his trousers over his hips, he crashed his lips to mine. We fell back across the bunk in a tangle of skin, lips, and teeth. His fingers laced with mine, pressing my hand to the pillow above my head.

In my ear, he growled, "I need you so fucking bad right now, Av."

The words and the feeling of his arousal at my center made me dig my fingernails into his shoulder blades.

"Please, Joe…"

The rest of my answer was swallowed by his kiss, as was the cry of pleasure as he joined our bodies. His movements were unhurried and deliberate, drawing me deeper into his kiss, even as he hitched my leg up over his hip to press deeper. We kissed and touched every inch of skin we could reach as our bodies slipped against each other. Months of lying in his arms had acquainted me with every muscle of his upper body, but I took great satisfaction in relearning them as they lay bare before me. My own muscles began to quiver, and Joe began to coax me toward the edge.

"That's it, baby. You feel so good. God, I've wanted this for so long, Av," and then, struggling to hold back until I had reached the edge, he whispered almost inaudibly, "I love you so fucking much, Ava."

My world went bright. I cried out with pleasure, but still he didn't stop. Faster. Deeper. Somehow more determined now. His arms held him over me so that he could watch my face and my hand clutched his biceps as I attempted to meet his rhythm. His skin was glistening. My eyes were damp. His movements were becoming erratic as his body lost control. He kissed me again, slowing his movements to draw the pleasure out as long as he could. Breathing had grown shallow. I was still trembling from the first wave on pleasure when the second crested over me. At last, I felt his release as he groaned my name against my lips. Spent, he rolled and pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head.

"Remind me to thank Sobel later," he mumbled, and I laughed. Then he looked down at me with serious eyes. "You know this changes things, right?"

* * *

 **** JOE POV ****

With her bare body against mine, I could feel her heart begin to pound, but she tried to keep her face neutral. She wasn't sure what I meant, and she was scared to ask me. She didn't meet my eyes.

"Yeah. I know."

I put my finger under her chin to lift her face.

"Different doesn't mean bad, baby."

I could see the tiny tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She wasn't sure yet whether to be relieved.

"It doesn't?" she asked quietly.

I pressed a soft, chaste kiss to her lips and she released the breath she'd been holding.

"No. Ava, baby, I love you. I don't know how it happened, but I'm completely fucking in love with you. I don't wanna be your friend, or your adopted big brother. I wanna know that you're my girl. That I can do more than just lie next to you and watch you sleep. That I can finally tell Talbert to back the hell off because you're spoken for. And when we get home and start our lives, I want it to be together. That's the different that I'm talking about." She was sniffling as tears ran down her cheeks, but she smiled at me, so I finished, "You good with that, baby?"

She didn't answer right away, instead kissing me deeply before nodding. We spent a long time wrapped up in each other, talking about the future, before we realized that it was getting late and we needed to get dressed. When the boys began to drift back in, we were stretched out across the bunk in our usual position. Only Bill seemed to notice the charge in the air, grinning as he raised an eyebrow at me.

"How was that book, Joe?"

"Best one I've ever read."

Talbert wasted no time in plopping down on a nearby bunk.

"Missed you tonight, Av. I was counting on a dance. I'll settle for a good night kiss though. I'm sure your overprotective friend won't mind."

I pulled her back into me and kissed her softly on the lips as Tab's eyes went wide.

"Her protective friend might not have minded, but her future husband definitely does."


End file.
